


Into the Future We Go

by Amethystaris



Series: I Dream of Thee [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-22 02:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11370435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethystaris/pseuds/Amethystaris
Summary: Dean Winchester's dreams of a past life led him to Sunrise, Wyoming where he freed Castiel Novak from a curse of being frozen in time. It's amazing, and wonderful and... what exactly do you do when someone steps out of 1861 and into your life?You figure it out as you go.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back in April, I participated in the Dean/Cas Tropefest Mid-Winter 5k. The challenge was to write an AU in under 5,000 words. The result of that is the first story in this series. Though I felt like that was a complete story, there was certainly more that could be said for Dean and Cas. 
> 
> This story will probably make a whole lot more sense after reading the first one. 
> 
> Thanks to the Tropefest people for giving me a reason to finally actually complete and post a story, and for everyone who encouraged me to keep going on the next part.

 

“Hello, Dean.”

This is not at all what Castiel Novak expected Heaven to be like, or whatever sort of afterlife he now finds himself in. He tries to look around and gain his bearings, but instead stumbles and nearly crashes to the floor.

“Hey, hey. Take it easy. I’ve got you, Cas.” Dean steps up into his space, his arm curls around Castiel in support, and guides him to take a seat.

Castiel’s head feels fuzzy, the world around him sways and blurs. He reaches out to grip Dean’s wrist. “Did I fail? Did you die, too?”

When Dean kneels in front of him, the swirling colors of his vision finally coalesce into the beloved details of Dean Winchester’s face. There are tears in his eyes.

“Funny story, that.” Dean brings his hands up to cup Castiel’s face. “You’re here. You’re right here, and real.” He leans up farther into Castiel’s space and brushes their lips together in a soft, tender kiss.

“Should I not be real?” Castiel asks as he drops his forehead to rest against Dean’s.

“I don’t know how you are.” Dean visibly pulls himself together. He kisses Castiel again before he looks up and off to the side. “Do you have any water?”

The quiet chant of ‘holy shit’ going on in a continuous loop cuts off. Castiel hadn’t noticed it until it stopped. The room is no longer swaying, so he risks pulling his gaze away from Dean to take in the room as a whole. It is cold, gray, windowless, crowded, and entirely unfamiliar.

There is also another person present. A young woman with vibrant and uncontained red hair, wearing clothes similar to Dean’s. He gapes as he watches her open an icebox and return with a clear bottle.  

Dean takes the bottle and removes the top before handing it to Castiel. “Cas, this is Charlie Bradbury. Charlie, Castiel Novak.”

As Castiel stares at her, she stares right back, finally lifting her hand and shaping her fingers in a foreign sort of salute.

Dean snorts. “I don’t think he’s seen Star Trek, Charlie.”

“You can never go wrong with _‘live long and prosper,’_ Dean.” She steps forward, her eyes huge, and offers her hand to shake Castiel’s. “Hi. Um. Hi. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m _so_ sorry I was just keeping you in a box. For now! You would have gotten a display case eventually. Which, wow. That’s even worse, huh? Like, I’ve always wondered how mummies feel about being in museums. Or those saints whose relics are kept in those big fancy cathedrals.”

Castiel squints and turns towards Dean. “Where are we, Dean? What is going on?” Nothing makes any sort of sense.

“Okay. About that…” Dean reaches up and rubs the back of his neck, one of his classic tells that he is uncomfortable talking about whatever the current topic is. “What do you remember?”

“I remember getting shot… and telling you that I loved you. Not very much after that, snatches of dreams perhaps. Dean. I don’t understand.”

“Right, right. Okay.” Dean drags another chair over and sits down close enough that his knees brush against Castiel’s. “Do you remember how we were told the gun was cursed? Your soul, whatever it is that makes you you, it seeped into the gun. The Colt. You must have been there this whole time.”

“How much time?” There is obviously something significant that Dean is not yet telling him. Castiel glances between Dean and Charlie.

“You’ve been locked away in that gun for 156 years,” Dean finally answers.

That can’t be right, 156 years? He didn’t hear that correctly, he couldn’t have. “Oh,” Castiel’s voice is faint. “You look very good for being over 180 years old, Dean.”

That makes Dean huff a laugh, though it is quiet, and he is clearly apprehensive. “I’m twenty-eight. No worries, you’re still older than me, old man. It’s just. I did die. I don’t remember that part of my life. I remember you. I dreamed about you, started dreaming about you right about the time that gun got dug out of the ground. Charlie is part of the team that found it, that’s why she’s here. She let me in here to see the gun. I’m, I don’t know. Reincarnated?”

It is an incredible tale, Castiel can’t quite bring himself to believe it just yet. He is the same Castiel, bodily brought back in one piece to reunite with the however many times descendant of his Dean who is somehow at the same time still his Dean. “You are certain we are not both dead?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure, Cas. Listen,” Dean swallows down his nerves and looks Castiel in the eye. “This is a lot, I know. Take your time. I’ll be here, no matter how long it takes for you to settle in, get your feet under you. I’m right here.”

Yes, he is right there. Castiel really looks at Dean. He looks the same in all the ways that matter. Same green eyes, same freckles. Same work-roughened hands. There are obvious differences though, too, once he really takes the time to look. Fewer scars, in different places. Whiter, straighter teeth. A different hairstyle. And then there are the clothes. These are finer spun and more colorful.

This should be impossible. He’s a doctor, he deals in facts and evidence, not fantasy. And yet. All of the facts and evidence before him point to the fact that Dean is telling the truth. Something fantastical did happen.

Instead of wallowing in what might have been, in losing his version of Dean, he chooses to revel in this gift that he has been given. A chance to fall in love with Dean all over again. A chance to live a full life. Together.

He pushes himself up out of his chair to straddle Dean’s lap. “I am settled in now.” He threads his fingers through Dean’s hair and captures his mouth in a deep kiss.

Dean exclaims in muffled surprise but doesn’t hesitate to grab hold of Castiel’s hips and kiss him back. The connection is still there, Dean still feels like home no matter the circumstance surrounding them.

After the kisses slow down to more resemble simply breathing each other in, Charlie coughs to gain their attention.. “I, ah. You guys want to crash on my couch? It pulls out and everything. Unless you have sleeping arrangements already? It’s just getting late. And I, for one, am hungry.”

Castiel had entirely forgotten she was there. He slides back off of Dean’s lap as Dean turns to Charlie to answer her. “Uh, no. I haven’t made any reservations or anything. Can’t say as I was thinking that clearly on my way down here. You’re sure?”

“Completely sure,” she reiterates. The two of them make arrangements on where to meet and what to do for dinner, and then Charlie is off and out the door.

“Are you ready to go outside?” Dean asks as soon as Charlie is gone. “I’m not sure if I should try to prepare you, or just go with it. I didn’t really plan for this to happen, just so you know. Hoped, in some corner of my mind, without actually acknowledging the possibility. In case nothing happened. So, that means I made no plans. At least my clothes should more or less fit you.” He notices he is babbling and stops, giving Castiel a chance to actually answer.

“I am ready to go outside,” Castiel responds. He is getting the impression that it will be better to see for himself than try to imagine what Dean tells him.

He still feels shaky on his feet, but steady enough to follow Dean upstairs and outside into the late afternoon sunshine. Castiel crowds against Dean, their fingers twined together, as they push through the door.

 

 

How does one go about introducing someone to the 21st century? Dean has no idea. He’ll have to wing it, because really, where would he go to do research on this? He makes sure to keep hold of Cas as they walk out the door and onto the sidewalk. He isn’t actually sure what the middle of Wyoming thinks about two dudes holding hands, but at the moment he doesn’t really care. At least they are two six-foot-tall dudes and aren’t likely to get much hassle about it.

Of course the first thing that happens is a truck with a bad muffler comes rumbling down the street right in front of them. There’s nothing like jumping right into the deep end. He looks over at Cas to see how he’s taking it. His eyes are wide open in either shock or wonder, Dean can’t tell yet. He isn’t turning tail and running though, so that’s something. Dean needs to remember not to underestimate the guy.

“Dean.” Cas turns his gaze to Dean, silently demanding an explanation.

“Yeah, that was a truck,” Dean replies. “Automobiles, horseless carriages, lots of different words for them. It’s how we get around these days.” It’s a good thing they are in a small little town and didn’t walk out to somewhere like New York City or LA, because, yeah. No thank you. “Mine is over this way.” He points towards a side street off of the courthouse.

“We’re actually in Wheatland right now. Come on.” Dean tugs at Cas and the two of them start walking down the sidewalk towards Baby. Lacking a good idea of what is best to talk about first, he just goes with the stream-of-consciousness method on anything he sees.

“Hey, see all those flags hanging off of the street lamps? Fifty stars. We’re up to fifty states now. I bet you would like Alaska. That there is a power line, for electricity. Everyone uses it now to light up their houses, no more candles or oil lamps. Unless there is a power outage.”

Cas starts to relax by increments as they continue on. It doesn’t take him long at all to start asking questions. How are the cars powered? How did the streets get to be so even? What is the purpose of the yellow and white lines on them? He seems particularly thrilled by the Wells Fargo. At least one thing remains that he is familiar with.

Dean finally comes to a stop in front of his own car. “Cas, meet my baby. She’s taken me from one side of the country to the other and has never let me down. You want to know how cars work? I’ll show you.” He pops the hood and explains in detail how the engine works. He figures the more Cas is familiar with the science behind it, the easier time he’ll have taking a ride in one.

It does not take very long for Cas to begin to watch Dean more than what Dean is pointing at and explaining, but it does take Dean a little while to notice. When Dean finally does notice Cas is no longer paying attention to his explanations, he pauses. “What is it?”

Cas smiles. “I am looking forward to falling in love with you all over again.”

“Oh.” Dean blushes. “Me too, Cas. Me too.” He clears his throat. “Get on in, we don’t want whatever food Charlie picked up for us to get too cold.”

He drops the hood back into place before opening the passenger side door for Cas. Once he is settled in Dean moves over to the driver’s side. Blasting Zepp is probably not the brightest idea, so Dean makes sure to eject his cassette tape before turning on the ignition. He has no idea how overwhelming all of this is for Cas, but he’s determined to do anything he can to ease the transition.

The drive to Charlie’s apartment isn’t long, she gave him simple enough instructions to follow. He’s so lucky Charlie turned out to be as awesome as she is. It doesn’t seem likely that just anyone would adjust so quickly to someone materializing right in front of their eyes like Cas did.

Cas is _real_ and _here._ Sitting right next to him, riding shotgun in Baby and looking adorable. Riding shotgun. Was that a real term actually used when stagecoaches were a thing? Or is it a term invented by Hollywood? He doesn’t actually know. There are a lot of things he remembers about living in the 1800’s, but it’s not as strong as his own current life. Cas seemed okay with that, but what was he going to do? Say ‘you aren’t _my_ Dean’ and stomp off on his own? No notion of how to get around in the 21st century, no money, no ID.

That no ID thing, that’s going to be a problem. One thing at a time, though. One thing at a time. Getting Cas cleaned up, with a change of clothes and a belly full of food is a good next step.

Charlie’s apartment is a tiny one-bedroom that feels even smaller with the addition of the two of them. It also smells awesome. Dean's stomach growls.

“I hope barbeque is okay,” she says as she nervously picks up scattered DVD and game cases from around her coffee table. “I also stopped at the gas station and got lots of different kinds of drink since I didn’t know what you’d like.”

She keeps glancing between Dean and Cas, mostly sticking to Cas, who is wandering about looking at the posters affixed to the walls. Dean can’t seem to keep his eyes off of Cas, either. He’s wearing a pair of relatively simple trousers held up with suspenders over a pale blue linen shirt. They had been at home, with no plans to head out again that day, so the waistcoat Cas usually wore out on appointments was missing, as was his coat and hat. He looks a bit out of  place in modern day, but it’s not that bad. Still, getting him new clothes is going to have to happen soon.

“Is Hermione Granger a great historical figure?” That question from Cas makes Dean drag his eyes up to see whatever it is he is actually looking at.

“I’m sure that Charlie would love to tell you all about Harry Potter, but maybe not our first priority.” It’s a reminder for Dean as well as for Cas. As much as he would like to simply stand there and stare at Cas like the miracle he is, there are things he needs to accomplish. Things like.... Oh yeah. “What do you want first, bath or dinner? The food will keep if you want to get cleaned up and changed first.”

“I would take that to mean you would like me to get cleaned up and changed first.” Cas looks down at himself. When he plucks at his shirt, a cloud of dust puffs out. “Yes, all right.”

Dean gains permission from Charlie, then shows Cas how to work the shower. He tries not to think about a very naked Cas just on the other side of the curtain as he sets a clean set of his own clothes on top of the closed toilet lid. Tries, and fails.

“Clothes are clothes, man. I’m trusting you can figure these out, but if you have any issues just ask. I’ll be right outside, all right?”

“Yes, Dean. Thank you.”

When Dean heads back out to the living room, Charlie is busying herself setting her tiny, rickety dining room table.

“I can make you a new one,” Dean offers, coming up to take the glasses from her and setting them down on the table. “A dining room table. It’s the least I could do, you know. With all the help you’ve been.”

“Are you kidding?” Charlie hands him the silverware next, accepting his help without comment. “My philosophy in life is, what would Hermione do? First, go to the library. But she would definitely help out in this situation without asking for a thing in return. Besides, this living situation is temporary. I’m here helping out on the excavation, then when that’s all taken care of it’s off again to a new location with a different shitty apartment. Not that I’m complaining! This work is awesome. Maybe all this good karma I’m building up means next cursed soul to pop out of some artifact will be a hot, unattached chick.”

“Right, well. Who am I to say that isn’t likely? At least let me fix this table for you so it isn’t in danger of collapsing at any moment.” Dean never exactly learned what silverware is supposed to go where on a proper setting, so he’s only making sure everyone has one of everything and deciding not to worry if the spoon is supposed to go on the right or left side. His eating experience involves a lot of diners which don't always even give you a spoon unless you order coffee or some sort of ice cream dessert.

“Sure. So. How’s he doing?” Charlie follows behind and slaps a napkin down next to every plate. She apparently doesn’t care about dining etiquette either, since she doesn’t bother to fix Dean’s place settings.

“Remarkably well, considering. Maybe even better than me. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing.” Dean slides his hands into his pockets and looks around for something else he can do to help.

“Who would?” Charlie grabs the bag of food and starts warming it up. “Sit down, drink a beer. You’ve earned it.”

Dean is on to his second beer by the time that Cas actually makes it out of the shower and into the living room. A curl of heat forms in Dean’s gut to see the other man wearing his clothes. Dean is so struck dumb by the sight that it is Charlie who jumps up to guide Cas over to his seat. By the time he is able to functionally focus again, everyone has reheated barbeque plated up in front of them, and Cas even has an open beer.

“Are you all right, Dean?” Cas asks him, concern evident.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Good, really.” Dean picks up a fork and pulls his plate closer. “How are you?”

“I am fine as well. Thank you. Though I do have many questions.” Cas watches Dean, and copies his actions by pulling his own plate closer.

“Right, of course. Yeah, of course you do. First things first, though. Before anything else. Do you actually want to stay with me?” Dean hates having to ask that question, he doesn’t want Cas to go anywhere else. But it isn’t good to assume, is it? The guy should have some choice.

“Dean. I stepped in front of a bullet for you. We have a bond strong enough to bring us together again though my soul was trapped and yours has been through an unknown number of lives since.”

“Basically, you’re saying I’m stupid. Got it.” Dean is pretty sure that is relief making him feel light-headed, and not the two bottles of beer. His alcohol tolerance is a lot higher than that.

Cas treats him to a flat stare. “Never stupid. Merely frustratingly blind to your own worth at times. Will we be going to your home? If you lived nearby we would not be required to “crash” on Charlie’s couch.”

“Our home. Yours and mine,” Dean corrects. “Yes, but not yet. If you’re good with it, I thought we could drive to California first, visit my little brother Sam. He helped me find you and I promised him I’d explain everything. Might be easier in person. In some respects.”

“You have a brother.” Cas takes a moment to process that piece of information. “That is a long ways to go, but I have no objection. Where is it that you do live?”

“Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Not that far east of here. Relatively speaking. We’re going to have to get you acquainted with a map, huh?”

“That would be nice,” Cas agrees. “Especially since you mentioned that there are now fifty states. I am going to go with the assumption that South Dakota is part of what was the Dakota Territory. South Carolina is also one of the fifty? The states that seceded rejoined the union?”

“Whoa…” Charlie interjects. “Whoa. I didn’t ask this part before. When did you get shot, exactly?”

“It was March of 1861,” Cas informs her.

She turns wide eyes on Dean, who grimaces. “Yes,” Dean answers the question. “Including those states that seceded.” The whole Civil War thing is going to hit Cas hard, he knows it will. “It was ugly and awful and a lot of people died, but in the end the southern states rejoined the union. I’ll get you a library card when we get back home. Which is going to require some form of ID. How do I get valid ID for a guy who was born in 1830?”

“I can help with that.” Charlie raises her hand, looking sheepish.

Dean sets his fork down. “You can… what?”

“This isn’t the name I was born with. Things happened, I had to disappear, become someone new.” She waves her hand, dismissing those details as unimportant. “Give me some details and some time and I’ll give you a Cas born in this century. You’ll be fine for a while since you’ll be doing the driving and whatever else requiring an ID.”

“You…” Dean splutters. “Who _are_ you?”

“Your new best friend, clearly.” She looks so pleased with herself, and yeah. She deserves to be. Once again, Dean can’t believe his luck that Charlie was there for him.

“You deserve a better best friend than me, but yeah you are.” He offers up his fist, which she bumps with her own as Cas looks on with a squint.

The three of them relocate to the couch after cleaning up the remains of dinner. It has been such a long day for everyone, yet at the same time there is still so much to talk about. By mutual silent agreement, Dean and Charlie avoid explaining the television as they fill Cas in on what they deem to be the basics. It’s really difficult not to delve into Google to fact check, but they’ve also decided to ease him into phones and computers.

Dean doesn’t remember nearly enough of his high school history classes, so current events it is. Throughout the evening, Cas leans more and more of his weight against Dean as he loses the battle against exhaustion. They are in the middle of discussing marriage equality, a topic suddenly much more relevant to Dean’s interests, when Cas finally slumps over entirely.

“Aww. You guys are so cute! I’ll go raid the linen closet so you can make up the sofa bed,” Charlie offers. She leaves Dean to try and rouse Cas up again.

“Hey.” He lowers his head and kisses Cas on the crown of his head, then jiggles his shoulder. “Hey, sleepy. Can you wake up enough to make a proper bed?”

Tenderness engulfs him as Cas makes a grumbling, inarticulate complaint.

“I know, sweetheart. You like your sleep. You don’t want your neck to crick sleeping like this though, I promise. Come on.”

“Dean.” That one word is so full of reproach that Dean can’t help but laugh. Cas finally does get up enough that they can move the coffee table and pull out the bed. It takes far longer than it should as Cas studies how exactly it works, but finally the two of them are under the covers with Charlie safely behind her closed bedroom door.

Cas throws his arm around Dean, snuggles in close, and falls asleep again with ease. It takes longer for Dean. This has been the weirdest day of his life. He should be stressed out, but he’s just… not. He has Cas. Everything else is secondary. When he does finally fall asleep, it is with his limbs tangled up with Cas, and with a smile on his face.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

“Good call with the Millennium Falcon T-shirt. If anyone can pull off the scruffy nerf herder look, it’s Cas. But I don't see why he can't have a Hogwarts shirt too.” Charlie is standing over near a pile of shirts that used to be neatly folded, before she got her hands on them.

Dean, if anything, has been even more messily sorting through the available clothes. “Because I said so. Look, he doesn't know anything about it. What if someone asks what house he is in? That wouldn't be fair to the guy.”

“What? That doesn't even… What if someone asks about the Kessel Run? Your argument is nonsense. What do you do if someone asks what house you are in?”

Castiel silently agrees with Charlie. The argument is nonsense. On both sides. He has already gotten used to not understanding much of anything the two of them start arguing about.

“I give them a flat stare until they run away in terror.” Dean shows Charlie the expression he is talking about. She doesn’t run away in terror, however. She merely rolls her eyes.

“Ugh. You weren't one of those guys who made life for the nerds awful in high school, were you?”

“Hey, the only people I shoved in lockers were the bullies.”

Castiel allows the words to wash over him, not really paying attention to the two of them argue in good nature. They were in some form of general store which went by the name of “Target,” and had been for hours. Each aisle held a fascination for Castiel. Dean had been remarkably patient and understanding, willing to explain any and every question that Castiel had.

It was easier for Castiel to accept the changes in the world when he understood the hows and whys. Dean was particularly good at understanding the hows, if not always the whys. Castiel knew this to be a singularly Dean thing when they had gathered a small audience in the electronics department who asked as many, if not more questions than Castiel about how televisions actually worked.

“Once you know how one thing works, Cas, figuring out related things ain't that hard.”

Agree to disagree, he supposes. At least when it comes to modern technology.

Waking up that morning had been incredibly disorienting. The familiar sizzle and pop of frying bacon had lulled Castiel into a false sense of comfort until absolutely everything else jarred him back to reality. The sheets were wrong, the mattress was wrong, the _air_ was wrong. He had been close to slipping into panic, but then Dean was right there with a cup of coffee and a kiss.

He would do anything for Dean, including not panic in the face of 2017.

After Charlie had retired to her room, she claims to have consulted her “guildies” on how to introduce a 19th century man to modern technology. She placated Dean by claiming it was under the guise of “fanfic.”

Dean had appeared to be as baffled as Castiel. He had also wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible, but lost the argument in favor of a day of electronics immersion and necessities shopping.

The three of them collapsed the sofa bed and spent the morning watching documentaries on Netflix about technological innovation. A two-for-one, Charlie called it.

The television was truly miraculous, and Castiel looked forward to spending more time with it.

The next lesson had turned out to be a wonder called a diner. They had cheeseburgers and pie, and Castiel was blessed to see Dean truly happy.

Now Castiel’s stomach was rumbling with hunger again as Dean and Charlie argued over his wardrobe. This was to get him through a few weeks only, at most, so he was not too particular about what clothes they picked out for him. The choices were overwhelming.

“Here, Cas.” Dean places a pile of cloth in his arms. “Go try these jeans on. They’re relaxed fit so they should work better for you. Might need to get a belt too, but see how these work first.”

Dean’s jeans fit him mostly all right. They are a bit tight and slightly too long, so Castiel takes the new offering from Dean into the fitting room without comment. He has already tried a few things on so is familiar with the process by now.

When he once again emerges, it is wearing a pair of jeans that cling without digging into him, and a Millenium Falcon T-shirt that sits perfectly across his shoulders. It feels alright to him, but he looks up at Dean for approval.

“Right. Well.” Dean clears his throat. His eyes dilate and his skin flushes. “Looks good. Let's get two more pair in that size.”

“You are aroused,” Castiel concludes.

“Hey, come on.” Dean blows out a breath, looks at Charlie, and when she does nothing more than arch her eyebrows, he turns to the fitting room attendant. That young lady gives him a thumbs up and a big smile.

He blushes even harder, and turns back to Cas. “You can’t just say shit like that. Dude. But, um. Yeah. You’re hot.”

“No, I’m comfortable, if not a bit chilled.” From context, Castiel thinks he knows what Dean actually means, but he enjoys the reactions he gets from deliberately being literal.

“No, I mean…” Dean pauses to gather his composure. “You know what? Nevermind. We’re good. Are you good? Just go put the other stuff back on and we’ll get out of here.”

“Yes, Dean.”

Castiel takes another shower as soon as they return to Charlie’s apartment. He finds he likes them quite a bit. When he emerges again, he is wearing his new boxer briefs, a pair of flannel lounge pants, and a Hogwarts T-shirt that Dean still refused to buy on principle but Charlie purchased for him instead.

“Take a seat on the couch, Cas,” Dean tells him from the kitchen. “Pizza tonight, we’re hitting all the high points today. Frozen this time, but we’ll get delivery at some point.”

“I’m going to be sad when you guys leave,” Charlie says as she brings over some soda for all of them. “Can I come with you?”

Dean brings the pizza and some plates over to join them on the couch. “Not this time. You’ll come visit us when we’re back home though, yeah? I might even let you watch those Harry Potter movies with Cas.”

“Awesome.”

Castiel watches the other two, and follows their example by adding a few slices of the pizza to a plate. He brings it up to his nose and inhales. It smells really rather good. “So many different varieties of food, and so easy to procure. Do you butcher any of your own animals anymore?”

“Not so much, no.” Dean offers Castiel a grin. “More time for other things.”

Pizza, it turns out, is wonderful but not his new favorite above cheeseburgers. Castiel is feeling pleasantly full and a little sleepy when Dean slings an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get some sleep, hm? It’s been a long day.”

 

 

Nearly a week has gone by with no contact with Sam beyond a text or two. As Dean heads out towards California, he considers if he should actually call his brother ahead of time. He glances at the passenger side of his car, at Cas, and wonders how he is going to go about explaining all of this.

Maybe just showing up out of the blue is the best option. He might be procrastinating about calling Sam for no good reason, but he has plenty of bad ones. Amongst them is a probably irrational fear his brother will tell him not to bother to come at all.

“Cas.” Dean clears his throat. “You want to listen to music?” He’s heading west towards I-80, with the sun still low in the sky behind them. Any other road trip, he would avoid the interstates like the plague. Time efficient, sure, but boring. As is, this is going to take them close to 20 hours without factoring in bathroom and meal breaks and he just isn’t going to be able to relax until Sam meets Cas. On the way back they can take their time. Maybe even go through Yellowstone. Cas would get a kick out of that. Reading about it is part of what sent him west in the first place, back when the east coasters thought the stories were all creative fiction.

“May we talk instead?” Cas asks him. “You have not told me much of anything of your brother.”

“Sammy? He’s finishing up his second year of law school, one more to go. At Stanford, real smart kid. He lives with his girlfriend Jessica. Jess. They have this tiny little place, but it’s bigger than Charlie’s apartment anyhow. So we’ll have a little bit of privacy if we crash with them. Oh, and probably don’t call him Sammy. He hates it, but I claim big brother privilege and do it anyhow.”

“There is not much formality to the world anymore,” Cas observes.

“I guess not. Not in most situations. Still some where you go by title. You want me to call you Mr. Novak?”

“Dean.”

“Right. Right. Just in the bedroom, then.” He winks at Cas.

“What about other family?” Cas asks, ignoring Dean’s attempts at flirtation for the moment.

“Sam is it for me, as far as official family. Might be some Campbells kicking around, that’s my mom’s side of the family, but we don’t talk to them and they don’t talk to us. Mom died when Sammy was just a baby, and Dad some years ago, now. I live in Sioux Falls because of Uncle Bobby. He isn’t technically related but he’s still family. The best kind, you’ll like him. You guys can be grumpy together. Jess is near enough to being family, too. Every time Sam calls I expect him to tell me that he popped the question. Hasn’t happened yet, but it will.” The usual pride Dean has while talking about Sam shines through everything he says about his little brother.

“Popped the question?”

“Asked her to marry him. Yes, they are living together and no, they aren’t married yet. That happens a lot these days, too. A lot. Admirable restraint, by the way, not tossing a blanket over Charlie when she showed up in the kitchen in a pair of boxers.”

“I am a doctor, Dean. I have seen female knees before. I was a doctor, I suppose I should say.”

“Hey. Hey, you’ll figure out what you want to do, now. No pressure to do it quickly. We can survive off of my income for as long as it takes. You don’t ever have to get a job, if you don't want one. No yearly European vacations, but we’ll make do.”

“I suppose that we will,” Cas agrees, though he does sound a bit unenthusiastic about it.

Dean had no idea there was so much about his own life to talk about. The hours on the road fly by as he tells Cas all sorts of stories about growing up Winchester. There are a lot of detours into other topics as well, and sometimes they sit in silence and watch the landscape roll by.

They finally stop for the night roughly half way, just past the border into Nevada. As they stand next to each other in their pajamas, brushing their teeth, shoulders pressed together, Dean thinks that this is what he has been missing. He has had this sort of casual intimacy before, with Lisa most notably. But even then something was always missing. It’s why they had such an on-again off-again relationship. This is different. This feels real and right and complete. He belongs with Cas, and Cas belongs with him.

Dean finishes brushing his teeth first. He taps the excess water off and sets the toothbrush down before moving to stand behind Cas. He hooks his chin over Cas’ shoulder, and meets his gaze in the mirror.

“Don’t mind me, keep on brushing your teeth, man. Do what you have to do.” Last night they had Charlie right on the other side of a flimsy door. Tomorrow night there will be Sam and Jess far too close. Tonight it’s just the two of them.

He watches Cas for any sign he wants Dean to stop, but what he gets instead is a nod of encouragement.

When they eventually crawl under the covers and fall asleep, they leave their pajamas crumpled in untidy piles on the bathroom floor.


	3. Chapter 3

 

According to the Google, it would take thirty hours to travel by automobile from Boston, Massachusetts to Sunrise, Wyoming. Castiel has also been following along on Dean’s old atlas as they drive towards California. It still feels recent, to him, his original trip out to the west. And now he is going the rest of the way to the opposite coast. To the Pacific Ocean.

He has been enjoying learning about this version of Dean as they travel as well. In many ways he is the same.  Enthusiasm, warmth, gruffness, and love. Castiel smiles to watch him play what he calls “air drums” on the steering wheel of his baby.

Two days. It has only taken two days to arrive at the home of Dean’s brother. The car pulls up in front of a building, and though Dean turns the car off he does not get out immediately. “All these bars on the doors and the windows, looks a bit like a prison to me. I guess we should go say hi, huh?”

“That is what one generally does when visiting, yes,” Castiel agrees, giving Dean a flat look.

Before Dean can reply, the door opens and a very tall man comes bounding down the steps.

“Dean? Dean! I knew I heard the Impala. What are you doing here? Why didn’t you call?” So this must be Sam, then. Dean glances at Castiel again before conquering his nerves and getting up out of the car.

“Sammy!” The brothers hug as Castiel gets up out of the car as well. “Well,” Dean continues, “You said I owed you an explanation for the whole ancestor thing. Here I am! Oh, and this is Cas. Cas, this is my little brother Sammy.”

“Hello, Sam.” Cas steps forward to offer up a handshake.

“Uh, hey Cas.” Sam shoots Dean a questioning glance as he accepts the handshake.

Dean answers with a shrug. “Later, Sam. You still have an air mattress or should we go find a motel?”

“Oh, yeah, no. Come in.” Sam turns around to open the door. “Jess and I were just about to make dinner. Maybe you can make that bruschetta chicken of yours?”

The easy acceptance of his presence here drains the tension out of Dean’s shoulders. “Enough with the puppy eyes, dude. I can make your dinner.”

The three of them head on inside, Sam calling ahead of them. “Jess! I was right. Dean is here.”

The apartment being the size that it is, small, it takes little time at all before a fourth person is joining them. Jess is near as tall as Castiel himself, and wearing considerably less.

Dean is already on his way to the kitchen, though he does pause to hug and kiss Jess on the cheek. “Hey beautiful.”

“Hi Dean,” she replies as she pauses his progress by pulling him into a quick hug. When she lets him go, she turns her attention to Castiel.

“Sam, you forgot to mention Dean’s guest. Unless this is the impala finally come to life? Dean, you said Baby was a beautiful lady.”

Castiel steps forward with a small smile as Dean continues towards the kitchen, ignoring Jessica's ridiculousness.

“Castiel Novak,” he introduces himself to her. “I am actually a colt come to life, not an impala.” His smile grows when that earns a bark of laughter from the direction of the kitchen.

“Jessica Moore.” She sizes him up. “It’s good to know Dean can find friends with the same sense of humor. Can I get you anything to drink?”

They end up in the kitchen watching Dean cook. Dean grumbles about it, says Sam needs a bigger kitchen if he expects to throw parties in here, but Castiel knows that he is pleased to have the people he loves so close.

Dean puts them all to work, and they discuss mundane details about what Sam and Jess have been up to lately as the chicken cooks.

Sam waits until the food is on the table before asking his own questions. “Are you going to explain why the surprise visit?”

“Yeah, about that. I figured this wouldn’t go over well over the phone.” Dean uses the act of swirling pasta noodles around his fork as an excuse not to look his brother in the eye.

Sam looks between Dean and Castiel. “Dean. You know that neither Jess nor I care that you’re dating a dude, right? Because it didn’t escape my notice you asked about _the_ air mattress, singular.”

“What? No! This isn’t about that. Really. We aren’t exactly dating, anyhow. It’s more… let me just start from the beginning… ish.” Dean reaches over and links his fingers with Castiel’s and rests their joined hands on his thigh under the table.  “I asked you to look into the 1861 Dean Winchester because I was having dreams about him.”

Castiel has heard most of this tale over the last few days, but not in so much detail. He squeezes Dean’s hand from time to time to show his support as he listens to him tell Sam and Jess how he dreamed about an entire different life in such detail it felt like he was really living it.

At the point in the story where Dean is being threatened at gunpoint, Sam digs out his one bottle of whiskey from the back of his cabinet. They move to the living room while Dean explains about driving down to Wyoming to meet with Charlie.

“So, to recap: Past life you was shacking up with Castiel, not past life Castiel but _this_ Castiel in antebellum Wyoming.”  Sam picks his glass up but doesn't drink from it as he looks between his brother and Castiel. Both of them look back at him with a steady expression, no hint of being close to cracking up with laughter. “Ha. Ha. You’re very funny, Dean.”

“Believe me or not, Sammy. That’s what happened.” Dean has long since finished his whiskey. He stands up and brings the empty glasses over to the sink. “Your mattress and air pump in the same spot?”

Sam chooses to let Dean change the subject, for now. He and Jess say their goodnights and disappear into their bedroom after Dean insists he has the whole bed situation under control.

“You are disappointed,” Castiel muses, as he watches the pump fill the mattress with air.

Dean goes to grab some linens from the hall closet. “Yeah, well. I didn’t really expect him to believe me, you know? Just sort of hoped. Especially after how well Charlie took it. But I guess Charlie had the advantage of seeing you materialize out of thin air.”

“He might yet come around.” Castiel takes the pillows from Dean as he hands them over. “Do you intend to tell everyone where I have come from?”

“What? Pfffft. No. Just Sam and Jess. Maybe Bobby, we’ll have to wait and see on that one. Probably Bobby because he has this way of getting me to tell him things even when I had no intention of doing so.”

“I am looking forward to meeting Bobby.”

“Yeah, I bet you are.” They finish making up the bed and settle in under the covers. “Good night, Cas.”

“Good night, Dean.” Castiel rolls into Dean’s space and peppers him with kisses before being content to drift off into sleep.

 

 

When Dean wakes up again in the morning, he’s snuggled up behind Cas and Sam is standing over them smirking at him for it.

“What are you doing, moose?” Dean grumbles as he hides his face between Cas’ shoulder blades.

“Snapping some blackmail pictures,” Sam answers, holding up his cell phone. “Dean I-don’t-cuddle Winchester has been caught cuddling. This is going up on Facebook.”

Dean lifts his middle finger, but then decides he may as well get up since Sam doesn’t appear to have any plans of leaving him alone any time soon. “You have any coffee?”

Rolling over and out of bed makes the air mattress bounce, which has the consequence of waking up Cas. “Dean?” He asks as he rubs his eyes.

“Yeah, Cas. I’m here. Sorry about that. You just stay there while I get you a cup of coffee, okay?”

“All right.” Cas drops right back to sleep.

“Awww,” Jess says from the kitchen table. “You two are adorable. How long have you been together, really? Last I heard you were giving it another go with Lisa.”

Dean grunts as he pours a cup of coffee. “I told you guys how we got together. Not my problem you don’t believe me.” He takes a long sip of the brew before adding a little bit of cream and a little bit of sugar.

Sam sits down next to Jess, playing around on his phone. Probably doing exactly what he said he was going to do and posting embarrassing pictures of Dean. “How long are you staying for?” He asks, when he finally puts his phone away.

“I don’t know, man. A few days? You need me gone? Am I cramping your style?” Dean takes another sip of the coffee and scrunches his nose. Too sweet, but it’s not for him.

“No, don’t be that way.” Sam grabs his own mug and takes a sip. “I was just curious. Cas been to California before, any tourist type things you want to do while you’re here?”

“No, he’s never been. Wyoming is the farthest west he got. Even if he had, it would have been around the gold rush… ish. How long did that even last? I have a lot of history to catch up on.” It’s Dean’s way to emphasize that he isn’t giving up his so-called story.

Sam rolls his eyes, but otherwise doesn’t comment. Dean brings the coffee over to Cas and nudges him with his foot. He waits for the other man to work his way to being awake and upright before handing over the coffee.

“What do you want to do today, Cas?” Dean asks him once he has managed to caffeinate himself. “You would probably like Golden Gate Park, visit the museums there.”

“Whatever you would like, Dean. I am sure I would enjoy it so long as you were there.”

There is another “awwww” from the direction of the kitchen, which makes Cas look over and notice their audience of Sam and Jess for the first time.

“Good morning,” he greets them from behind the shield of his coffee mug.

Jess waves in response, then chimes in with a “Can I come to the museums, too?”

“Don’t you guys have work?” Dean asks, which gets two heads shaking in the negative. “Fine. You can all come, but Cas gets shotgun.”

It takes a while for four people to get showered and dressed, but eventually they all pile into the impala and head off towards San Francisco. Sam thinks he is being clever by shooting off random questions at Cas, trying to trip him up with knowledge he shouldn’t have.

Cas, of course, is not tripped up.

“Dean tells me that there are fifty states, now and I did study the atlas during our drive here. At the time of my entrapment Kansas had just become the 34th.”

“James Buchanan. Abraham Lincoln was newly elected but not yet in office.”

“Beyoncé? My guess is he is in either politics or entertainment.”

“Jimmy Page is one of the most important figures in twentieth century music history along with the other members of Led Zeppelin.  I will need to listen to their music a number of times more before choosing my own favorite song though I currently lean towards ‘Kashmir.”

“Being cursed to live in a gun is much the same as sleeping. I do not remember much of it. Snippets of dreams, if anything.”

“Yes, Dean does look very much the same. He doesn’t smell quite as much like horse, but I suppose neither do I.”

It went on like that all the way to the park, interspersed with Cas asking his own questions of Dean as they drove past something that grabbed his interest.

They go into the California Academy of Sciences, first, and it soon becomes obvious that any other stops just aren’t going to happen that day. Cas looks at everything, reads everything, and he is fascinated.

Dean doesn’t even get bored. It’s far too interesting experiencing everything through Cas’ eyes.

It is right around the human migration map that Sam admits he is starting to think that no one person can keep up an act for that long at a time without breaking. That he’s willing to consider Dean is telling the truth.

When they return to Sam and Jess’ apartment, Dean figures it is finally time to queue up some Netflix. He sits on the couch close enough to Cas that their thighs are pressed together, and searches for Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary. Eleven and a half hours is going to take a few days, and it isn’t going to be fun, but it is important.

They get through four episodes before everyone is just too tired to keep their eyes open. Sam and Jess had watched with them, as interested as Dean was in it. Cas, though, Cas was the most affected.

“I should have been there,” he says, staring at the now black screen of the television. “I would have been there. I could have saved lives.”

“You did save lives, Cas,” Dean tells him quietly, stroking his thumb across the back of Cas’ hand. “You saved mine, and I saved the town out of some sort of angry grief.”

“I saved yours,” Cas agrees. His expression is still sad, but lightened by the reminder.

Five days later, Dean is ready to head back towards Sioux Falls. As much as he would like to, taking the entire summer off of working isn’t really feasible if he wants to keep his house.

Jess has gone to work for the day, but Sam is there to see them off. He steps up next to Dean at the trunk of Baby, hands in the pockets of his jacket. “You know, maybe I’m the one that’s crazy, but I actually believe you.”

“Thanks, Sammy,” Dean answers, giving his little brother a soft smile. “It is crazy, but that doesn’t make it untrue.”

“Maybe Jess and I will come visit later this summer, before classes start up again.”

“I would like that. So would Bobby. Fact, I might tell him you said so to make sure it happens. Pay you back for setting him on me earlier this spring.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with showing you we care.” Sam gives him a quick hug, and Dean gets into the driver’s seat.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” Cas tells him, already reaching under his seat for the box of cassette tapes so that Dean can choose what they listen to first.

“It wasn’t anything, Cas.” He picks a tape at random and gets the music going before shifting into gear and starting off down the street. He watches his brother wave good-bye in the rear view mirror as he pulls away. “Let’s go home.”


	4. Chapter 4

 

A good many of Castiel’s days had been taken up with traveling by buggy between homesteads, visiting those who required medical care. Dean’s impala had much more comfortable seats, traveled significantly faster, and had the advantage of having Dean right there. He didn’t mind the hours in the car traveling across the country.  Especially with so much of interest to look at.

Dean is choosing not to push too hard. It takes them two days to reach Yellowstone National Park. Nothing has prepared him for the wonders to be found there. No walking path he encounters remains unexplored. When a park ranger mentions backcountry camping, he turns to Dean with wide eyes.

“No way, man. No. Not this trip. We have no gear and I'm not leaving Baby unattended for that long. Maybe next time.” Dean picks up and peruses one of the backcountry guidebooks.

“We can come back?” Castiel asks him, never having considered that as a possibility.

“Well, yeah. If you want to.” Dean hands over a few dollars to pay for the guidebook and pockets it. “We can plan any vacation you want. I’d even fly to New Zealand if it made you happy.”

Castiel grabs hold of Dean’s T-shirt and pulls him in for a kiss right there in the visitor’s center. “ _You_ make me happy, Dean.”

“Yeah, okay, sap.” He’s smiling, though, so he isn’t too displeased with Castiel.

Satisfied that this does not have to be his one and only time exploring the park, Castiel is much more relaxed about moving on. He really is looking forward to finding out what home looks like. He can tell that Dean is ready to be home as well.

It takes them one more long day of driving to get home. The sun is setting by the time they pull up outside of a farm house.

“Dean.” Castiel gets out of the car and just looks at the house.

“It does kind of look like the homestead, doesn’t it,” Dean replies as he comes around to stand next to Castiel. “I guess there was a reason this place felt like home to me.”

It is a classic farmhouse, with two stories, white clapboard siding, and a front porch. Dean has been gone for a while, so the yard is just on the verge of becoming overgrown. There are a couple of rocking chairs on the porch creaking as they move slightly in the breeze.

“It feels like home to me, too,” Castiel tells Dean with near reverence.

“Let’s go see the inside.” Dean smiles, kisses Castiel on the cheek, and goes to grab their bags.

Castiel is tired, but not so much that he doesn’t want to explore. It is warm and comfortable and so very Dean. The feeling of home grows only stronger with each space he investigates.

Every room they enter, Dean flips on the lights to suffuse the room with a warm glow.

“Did you make all of the furniture?” Castiel asks as he looks around the den.

“If there isn’t upholstery, then the chances are good. Yeah,” Dean answers. “All the bookshelves I did. The entertainment center.” He points out each piece as he names it. “Not the couch, that I got from Bobby when he upgraded. The thing is ugly, but it’s comfortable and it has a lot of memories attached."

“I like it very much.” Castiel crowds against the other man until he is pinned up against the back of the couch. “I would like to see the bedroom next, please.”

“You got it, man. One bedroom, coming up.”

They forget to turn all of the lights off after them, absorbed only in each other.

 

 

Dean puts the finishing touch on Ms. Baker’s end tables and sets those aside. He makes a mental note to give her a call in the morning to let her know they are ready to come pick up, or he can deliver them for an additional charge. Knowing her, she’ll want the delivery and then want Dean to sit and share some cookies and lemonade. He’s half convinced she didn’t really want the new end tables as much as she wanted another chance to flirt with Dean. He’s actually okay with that, he enjoys her company and it gives him a chuckle and a story to share with Cas. Not to mention the added business.

He’s curious what sort of a project she’ll come up with next.

Once the end tables are set up out of the way, he picks up some scrap wood to piece together a mailbox.

The second thing they did after Charlie came to visit with a complete set of Massachusetts ID paperwork for Cas was to head to the DPS and get a South Dakota driver’s license for the guy. Luckily he didn’t have to take a driving test for that. (The first thing they did was watch all eight Harry Potter movies, as promised.)

Even so, Dean was a nervous mess the entire time right up until a shiny new, completely legally issued driver’s license showed up in the mail. Castiel Novak, bed head, blue eyes and all.

Bless Charlie Bradbury once again as being a miracle worker.

They still had to teach Cas how to actually drive after that. It’s a good thing Bobby has a yard full of junkers to use to teach Cas because he is getting nowhere near Baby’s wheel any time soon. It’s also a good thing that they are friends with Sheriff Mills, because Cas was a menace on the roads for quite a while.

Hence the need to stock up on custom built mailboxes. The neighbors are less irritated that their mailbox got run over if you replace it with a nicer one for free.

The project doesn’t take long. Once he is done for the day, Dean cleans up and heads for the house. As soon as he opens the door, he nearly trips over Dippy as she makes a run for the garage. If the calico is feeling confident enough to leave her kittens alone for a while, they must be getting close to old enough to bring back to the shelter and sent out for adoption.

Dean said no to cats. He’s allergic. Cas somehow got around that rule by fostering the things rather than outright adopting one. He detours to the kitchen to crack open a beer and add “benadryl” to the shopping list stuck to the freezer door. Dean does not like his chances of avoiding one or more of those little mewling beasts becoming a permanent resident. Might as well stock up on the allergy medicine.

“You here, Cas?” Dean calls out. He pokes his head into a few different rooms. When he doesn’t hear a reply, he shrugs and settles on the couch to watch some HGTV.

He is just about to prop his feet up on the coffee table when the pile of library books sitting there catches his eye. “Oh hell no.” _How to Raise Milk Goats_? No. Nope. They can buy regular cow milk like regular people at the regular grocery store. It’s enough of a sacrifice that he eats the squash that Cas grows in his vegetable garden. The only good kind of squash is the kind that goes into pie.

Sammy was downright ecstatic when he and Jess made true to their promise and came to visit. Fresh produce, and he didn’t even have to go to a farmer’s market. Not that it stopped him from going to a farmer’s market. Jess finally had a ring on her finger, too, so seems like they’ll be heading back to California within the year to watch the kids tie the knot.

The second library book is a beginner’s guide to beekeeping. Well, that’s no surprise. Dean isn’t that happy about all those bees, but he can at least convince Cas to keep the things on the far edge of the property. He’s flipping through to the section about building your own hives when Cas walks through the door.

He holds up a handful of ripe tomatoes. “BLTs for dinner, Dean?” he asks, walking straight through to the kitchen to set down his bounty and wash his hands before joining Dean in the living room.

“I’m never going to say no to bacon,” Dean agrees. He shifts to make room for Cas to sit with him on the couch.

“You found the bee book.” Cas looks pleased as he leans in to kiss Dean.

“I did. These hives look easy enough. I have plenty of extra cedar hanging around already to make, I don’t know, three of them?” Dean closes the book so he can pull Cas in for another kiss.

“Mmm. Thank you, Dean.” Cas waits for Dean to be thoroughly distracted before swiping the remote away from him. He sits back, expression smug, and changes the channel to Nat Geo.

All of the complaining and attempts to get the remote back are more for show than anything else. Arm slung around Cas, watching a show about hippos and crocs duking it out? Dean has it good, and he knows it.

Life isn’t at all what Dean expected it to be. He knows there are going to be a whole lot more surprises in his future, but he’s oKay with that.

He has Cas, and that’s all he needs.


End file.
